Raipur (thestates.news) | In a bid to enhance the effectiveness and quality of school education in Chhattisgarh, the Department of School Education has initiated a rationalisation process. The primary objective of this move is to ensure the availability of teachers where they are actually needed, while providing students with quality education, an improved academic environment, and better facilities. Rationalisation entails reorganising the distribution of schools and teachers in such a way that every school maintains a balanced student-teacher ratio and no institution remains without a teacher.
Ground Realities
Chhattisgarh currently has 30,700 primary schools with an average of 21.84 students per teacher and 13,149 upper primary schools where the average is 26.2 students per teacher—figures that are significantly better than the national average. However, despite this, 212 primary schools in the state are entirely without teachers, while 6,872 primary schools operate with only one teacher. At the upper primary level, 48 schools are functioning without any teachers, and 255 schools have only one teacher each. Additionally, 362 schools exist where teachers are posted, but no students are enrolled.
In urban areas, 527 schools have a student-teacher ratio of 10 or less. In 1,106 schools, this ratio stands between 11 and 20, and in 837 schools, it ranges between 21 and 30. However, in 245 schools, the student-teacher ratio exceeds 40, indicating a shortage of teachers in proportion to the number of students.
Benefits of Rationalisation
Under the rationalisation plan, teachers from schools with surplus staff but fewer students will be reassigned to institutions currently facing a teacher shortage or operating with a single teacher. This will address the issues of understaffed and single-teacher schools, reduce administrative costs, and enable more efficient use of resources. With multiple classes and improved facilities available within a single campus, students will not have to undergo repeated admission processes as they progress through various educational stages. If primary, middle, high school, and higher secondary classes operate within the same premises, students can continue their education seamlessly without interruption.
This continuity in learning is expected to significantly reduce dropout rates. Moreover, it will become easier to provide better infrastructure such as well-maintained buildings, science laboratories, and libraries at a single location.
Responding to misleading concerns raised by certain educational organisations, the Education Department has clarified that the rationalisation process is not intended to shut down any schools, but rather to improve and strengthen them. This decision is being undertaken in the best interest of the students and to ensure the optimal deployment of teachers. The Chhattisgarh Government’s initiative aims to create a more robust and balanced educational framework in the state. Rationalisation will not only ensure the effective utilisation of teaching personnel but also guarantee improved and quality education for students.
